Anchorage - Bean’s Café, a community kitchen that provided over 300,000 meals to those in need in 2012, lost its Executive Director of 11 years, Jim Crockett, last November after a brief illness. The Alaska State Legislature has issued a Proclamation of Memoriam to honor Jim Crockett. The Proclamation is signed by the Speaker of the House, Mike Chenault, and the President of the Senate Charlie Huggins, along with two Prime Sponsors—Senator Anna Fairclough and Representative Lance Pruitt. Cosponsors include 18 senators and 38 representatives.

The proclamation stated, “Under Jim’s leadership, Bean’s Café served approximately 800 meals per day, plus 100-200 additional meals at other locations. The Café also began providing shelter when the Brother Francis Shelter was over-capacity. One of the exciting creations during Jim’s tenure was that of a sub-program of Bean’s Café called Children’s Lunch Box, which serves over 1,200 children every day at six locations. The staff and volunteers at Bean’s Café will proudly carry on this program in his honor . . . ”